NYC Footy's Spring Survival Guide: The One Stop Shop for Winning On & Off The Field
The arrival of spring brings with it planet Earth’s annual reminder that growth - both on and off the field - cannot be stopped. So whether you used this past winter to play in NYC Footy’s Indoor Leagues, enhanced your touch technique with BetterPlayer, or spent time taking care of nagging injuries, the launch of NYC Footy’s spring season on March 17th is your chance to celebrate the arrival of the new you.
But much like jumping into an empty subway car at rush hour only to realize after the doors close you’ve made a horrible choice, you need to see the full picture of what you’re dealing with ahead of time before making a fateful mistake that ruins the entire ride. So whether you're a seasoned footballer or a newcomer to the NYC Footy community, we know providing support in all forms goes a long way in making sure your season doesn’t stink.
That’s why we’ve put together our very own spring survival guide below to help you navigate everything our community has to offer. From choosing a league and field that’s right for you to the type of experiences we want all players to walk away with pre and post game, our spring survival guide is designed to help you focus on one thing: the joy of playing the beautiful game. Let’s get into it, shall we?
Surviving & Thriving NYC Footy’s Spring Season
Our VIBE: Creative, Competitive, And Completely Original
NYC Footy is more than just a recreational co-ed soccer league—it's a community of passionate players dedicated to promoting the joy of the game. Founded with the mission of making soccer accessible to everyone, NYC Footy offers a variety of options for players who want to achieve different results when playing recreational soccer.
The principles that guide us are grounded in kindness and inclusivity. We call it in respectfully when someone crosses the line and prioritize our community values above all else. We have captured these core beliefs in our official Ted Lasso Code of Conduct, which we ask all players to review and abide by when participating in any Footy organized activity.
Note: our code of conduct also works great for real life Non-Footy situations too!)
Riverbank State Park in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood of Manhattan is one of the many fields we offer here at NYC Footy
Our Fields: Find A Pitch That Matches Your Personality
NYC Footy organizes indoor and outdoor games in public and private parks located across New York City. We have captured these locations using an interactive map as well as individual location pages categorized by neighborhood. If you’re more of a list type of person, we’ve captured all of current spring league locations below, most of which you can still register for as of today:
League Formats: Finding the Best Fit
Ready to step on the pitch, but not sure which level is right for you? Here’s our roster of league formats which can help you find the best situation and have way too much fun whether you win or lose.
Flip: Footy exists to crush traditional soccer constraints, and our Flip league is the place to be if you’re looking to be part of a team where the majority of players identify as female.
P1: Advanced. Former professional, NCAA player, or just love endless cardio? This is likely your best option to continue reliving your glory days of competition as its our most advanced level.
P2: Intermediate/Advanced. Select P2 if your love language is challenging yourself on the field of play. Choose this level if you’re looking for competitive play and enjoy being surrounded by a mix of players who are at or above your skill level.
P3: Intermediate Leagues. Former high school star that hasn’t played in awhile but are ready to strap up the old shin guards and find out where you’re at right now? P3 is the perfect middle of the road option.
P4: Intermediate/Beginner: Select P4 if you love learning and want to enhance your solid dribbling and passing techniques by leveling up.
P5: Beginner. If you know you’re in love with soccer but not exactly familiar with its rules of engagement, this is the best way to get indoctrinated. Ideal for beginners, you are joining for the joy of getting to know the NYC soccer community
Spring Tournament: The Governors Cup
Our flagship spring tournament is The Governors Cup which takes place on Governors Island June 1 - June 2 this year. It’s so popular that it already sold out prior to our team publishing this guide, but we’ve got a waitlist going which you should absolutely sign up for as previously registered teams have been known to drop out beforehand.
Reminders for First Time (And returning) Players
To make the most of your NYC Footy experience this spring, here’s a quick r
Stay Active: Keep an eye on NYC Footy's website and social media channels for updates on upcoming games, leagues, and events.
Pack the Essentials: Bring water, sunscreen, your Footy jersey, and the right footwear as each location
Respect the Game: Embrace the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship both on and off the field. Treat your fellow players, referees, and opponents with respect and courtesy at all times.
Have Fun: Above all, remember that soccer is a game meant to be enjoyed. Whether you win, lose, or draw, cherish the opportunity to play the sport you love with like-minded individuals.
Dress the part: Did you know Footy offers custom kits for teams now? Email [email protected]
Getting Started
Ready to kick off your spring season with NYC Footy? Visit the NYC Footy website to join a current league or sign up for invites to upcoming events (Premier League matches anyone?) . Want to see Footy players in action? Follow NYC Footy for exclusive video and photo content, merch drops, and more!
The best formation for 5 a-side (5v5) soccer
On my way to NYC Footy’s Friday night games in Chinatown last week I pondered to myself what would be a good question to ask players during my weekly coverage of Footy happenings.
I confess that I consider myself as a bit of a diminutive Pep - that is a tactical genius. A wannabe anyway.
So the question that came to mind was simply - what is the best 5 a-side formation?
The response I got from most was the 1-2-1 formation. Not taking into account the goalkeeper, the 1-2-1 might otherwise be known as the diamond. The thinking with the diamond is that there is a defensive player, an attacking player, and then two players on the sides that can move up and down. These two wing players should, if they do their jobs correctly, get up to support the attacking player, and then they should get back to support the covering defender.
Without giving it much thought, this formation should work well. That is, unless the opposing team use all 4 outfield players to put the pressure on when they get the ball. If they do that well, especially on a quick counter attack, you can quickly find yourself easily outnumbered, especially should your attacking player be lazy getting back. And let’s face it, we have all been guilty of that at times.
See, five a-side tactics/ formations only work well if all players know and carry out their responsibilities well. But since many of us just come along for a kick about, things can become unwieldy pretty fast.
Things are thrown off even faster when substitutions are coming on and off with good regularity. In one of my games last week, my team literally got caught out as we were trying to work out positions in defense as a substitution was coming on. The question of when is a good time for a substitution might be a subject for a future article 🤔.
Other five a-side formations might include the 2-2. That is two defensive players, and two midfield/ attacking players. Again, if people adopt their responsibilities well, this is solid enough. It feels like it should be more solid than the diamond if the team plays together as a strong unit. But playing as a unit appears to rare enough in 5-a-side.
With the diamond formation there is a bit of an obsession with wing play. Which is rather impractical when you consider how small the fields are. Wing play even in the professional game has been a dying art for some years. The main idea of wing play - in the sexy sense - is that some player with great skill and speed goes by a player on the side before ultimately whipping a ball into the box for the striker to nod in. But if you go by a player on the wing on a 5 side field, your more than likely hitting the by line. Also, I rarely see crosses of any type in 5 a-side except at corner kicks. All a defensive player has to do in 5 a side to protect against wing play is stand back a bit from the attacking player. The attacking player will be forced then to come inside and shoot or pass inside. This can still be effective, but again, it makes the focus on wingers a bit futile.
Then there’s the ultra defensive formation, The 3-1. In practice, it should be good at preventing you conceding. But in the end I think it plays out the same at the diamond. Eventually you have to try go forward, sacrificing the wing backs in defense.
There are so many permutations that play into your success in 5-a-side. Quality of player with game understanding being the most key. An intelligent player should know the players around them, know when to cover back, and know when to step forward. Football intelligence is pretty rare actually. Some players may have the skills, some players may be great goal scorers, but that doesn’t mean they have any football intelligence.
At the Footy Fest this past June, I played alongside an incredibly skillful and powerful player. He blew my mind with what he was capable of. But he shared little in terms of responsibility towards his team. He was your traditional glory hunter. The type of player that infuriates managers in the professional game (5-a-side managers are more forgiving…because there are none). Anyway, they are often considered to be a luxury. A famous example of the glory hunter was David Ginola. Ginola was spectacular going forward but not much use to the team at large. Some say that Cristiano Ronaldo in his heyday was this type of player. Though he got away with it because of how extraordinary his skill was in attack.
Anyway, I went off on a little tangent there. Let’s get back to some Pep like thinking.
What everyone is discounting here is the goalkeeper. In 5 a-side the goalkeeper should be considered almost like an outfield player. Think about the Bayern/German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. When Germany had the ball he would come far out of his box , sometimes as far as the halfway line. The whole defensive line of Germany would push far up and and press the opposing team back into their last third.. The opposition team would be so hemmed in by 10 oppressive Bavarians. They would be suffocated. Often the best an opposing team could do was clear the ball long, in which case Neuer was often there to sweep it up with no one there to pressure him. Neuer was the classic sweeper keeper.
In 5-a-side what you really want then is the whole outfield team attacking together as a unit, and once you lose the ball, the whole team needs to get back and pressure the opposing team to get the ball back. Barcelona under Pep were masters at this. They attacked together, but when they lost the ball, everyone bust a gut to get the ball back as fast as they could. No one abandoned that responsibility, including Messi. Opposing teams never had time to breathe against Barca.
Peps Barca were marveled for their ability to attack, but in truth, it’s how hard they worked to get the ball back once they lost it that was their main strength.
This plan is the most courageous in 5-a-side. But any other formation usually takes two players out of the game itself, and sometimes 3 - the goalkeeper, the holding defender, and the sit up top striker. This only allows 2 players to be flexible. The question is, why take 2 or 3 players out of the game?
After interviewing players and pondering further, I’ve concluded that the most effective strategy is when everyone moves up together, and everyone moves back together. That includes the keeper sweeper. You must avoid getting spread out, avoid getting stretched. Short quick passes are the order of the day to unlock the opposing team.
It goes without saying that any of these formations only work if players know their responsibilities, especially when the team loses the ball.
Do you play 5-a-side? What say you?